It’s a question that now carries the weight of finality. For the first time in over three years, and for the first time in what feels like an entrance generation, India will step onto the test field withoutIn the span of just a week, the pillars of India’s red-ball batting have walked away from the longst format. On May 7, Rohit Sharma Quistly Announced His Retirement from Test Cricket. And now, Virat Kohli, in an Emotional Instagram Post, Has Followed Suit:“It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue …” He Wrote, Signalling the end of a remarkable test journey that began in 2011 and shaped the heartbeat of Indian CRICKET for Indian CRICKET FOR More than a Decade.Together, Kohli and Rohit Defined an era. For Nearly 10 years, the two have been the spine of India’s test batting, taking the fight to every corner of the cricket from adelaide to lord’s, from chepauk to cape town. Their presence became so constant, so expected, that imagining a test xi without them feels unfamiliar, almost surreal.But Soon, Fans will have to face that reality. India’s Tour of England in July 2025 18 and no. 45 Walking out to bat in whites.Quiz: Who’s that IPL Player?The last time India played a test without both kohli and rohit was back in January 2022, during the second match of the series against Against South Africa in Johannesburg. Kohli, The then-Captain, Missed The Game Due to an upper back spasm. Rohit was absent for the entry series, recovering from a hamstring injury. Kl Rahul Led the team on that Occination, but India Fell Short, Losing the Test by Seven Wickets –and Later, The Series 2-1. That series also marked the end of kohli’s tenure as India’s test captain.
Between Them, Kohli and Rohit Played 190 Tests, Amassing 13,531 Runs, 44 Centuries, and Countless Memories. Their combined absence leaves a Cvernous Void Not Just In Numbers, but in Presence, In Aura, In Leadership.As India prepares for the next generation to take the mantle be it Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, or other the dressing room, and the field, will undoubtedly Feel Emptier. The bat won’t twirl the same. The walk to the crease won’T have the same fire. The whites won’t shimmer with the same family.It’s the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
